Submarine mine.



G. E. ELIA SUBMARINB MINE.

I APPLIOATION FILED MAY 21, 1913. I 1 ,096,698. 1 Patented May 12, 1914.

3 SHEETS-SHEET l.

G. E. ELIA.

SUBMARINE MINE. AI PPLICIATION PILED MAY 21, 1913,

1,696,698. Patented May '12, 1.914.

3 SHEETSSHBET 2.

WITNESSES momvsrs' G. E. ELIA.

v SUBMARINE MINE.

APPLICATION FILED MAY 21, 1913.

"1,096,698. fi nted May 12, 11914.

3 sHEETsSHEET 3.

WITNESSES I t rum/r05 Q'zara 717$ LE Elm 87 I A Anon/ga s ares GIOVANNIEMANUELE ELIA, 0F ROME, ITALY.

SUBMARINE MINE.

- Specification of Letters Yatent.

Application filed May 21, 1913. Serial No. 768,931.

I ship or fleet is discovered, so that when the mines are encounteredthe ship or ships striking the same will ,be destroyed or thrown out'ofcommission.

An object of the invention is to provide a floating cable having minessuspended on the ends thereof so that the cable by floating on thesurface of the wateravill, 'upon being struck by the bow of, a ship, bedragged along with the latter so as to cause the mines suspended on theends of the cable to be drawn inwardly to and finally into contact withopposite sides of the hull of the ship when the mines areexploded withthe effect of destroying or throwing the ship out of commission. I

Another object of the invention is the use in connection with mines atthe ends of the floating cable of mine anchors that are sus-;

the mine anchors will be automatically untied from the mines, allowingthe mine anchors vto depend from the-mines, and also allowing the minesto assumean upright position and causing the firing means to can plodethe mines.

With these objects in view, and others as will appear as the descriptionproceeds, the

invention comprises various novel features of construct on andarrangement of parts which Wlll be more fully described here1nafter andset forth with particularity in the claims appended hereto.

In the accompanying drawings, which illustrate one embodiment of theinvention,

Patented May 12, this.

and wherein similar reference charactersv are employed to designatecorresponding parts throughout the several views, Figure 1 is a sideView of one of the mines or bombs and its-associated instrumentalitiesthat are connected to one end of the floating cable; Fig. 2 is a sideview of the parts shown in Fig.- 1; Fig. 3 is a view showing a mine justafter it has been placed in the water; Fig.

4 is a view showing the mine sunk to the normal depth and with the mineanchor still attached to the mine; Fig. 5 shows the mine anchor releasedand suspended from the mine or bomb andwith the drag anchor paying outfrom the mine anchor; Fig. 6 is a view showing the final position of the'mine and its attached parts when firing takes place; and Figs. 7 to 9inclusive are diagrammatic views showing the manner in which a shipencounters the floating cable and causes the mines suspended on the endsof the cable to be brought into engagement with the sides of the ship.

Referring to the drawings, A designates the mines or bombs, B thesuspending cable for each-bomb, C the floating cable, D the mine.anchors, E the suspending cables or lines for the mine anchors, F thedrag anchors, G the line for each drag anchor, H the winding drums forthe lines G, I the retaining cable'or element for normally securing eachmine to its anchor, and J the releasing mechanism between each windingdrum H and retaining cable I, whereby the mine anchor is detached anddropped from its mine and allowed to assume a suspending positionwhile-the mine itself assumes an up right position suitable for firing.

The mine A is of any suitable construction and is provided with a firingdevice 1 which is controlled by breakable wires 2 that are engaged, withthe lower section 3 of the mine suspending cable B, so that when astrain of sufficient power is brought to bear on the suspending cablethe breakable wires 2 will break successively and finally cause the bombor mine to be exploded by the firing device 1 as further described. Thesection 3 of the suspending mine cable" B is attached by an eye orequivalent device 4 to the mine A, and the other end of the section 3 isconnected with a ring 5 to which the section 6 of the mine cable B isfastened. The upper end of the mine cable B is connected with a buoy 7fastened to the end of the floating cable C, such cable 0 having spacedalong its length small floats 8 where? by the cable C will float on thesurface of the water so as to be encountered by a moving ship.

The mine anchor D is a body of metal or other suitable material ofrectangular or any other suitable shape and serving normally to form acarria e for the mine A, there being wheels 9 on tide bottom of theanchor D, so that it, with the mine, can be conveniently wheeled about,and the top of the anchor has a cavity-or seat 10 in which the mine Brests on its side, as'clearly shown in Figs. 1 and 2, the suspending eye4 being at what is properly the top of the mine. The anchor D is adaptedto be suspended from the bottom 11 of the mine A by a cable E which hasat its upper end a swivel connecting device 12 of suitable constructionthat is attached to the eye 13 fastened centrally to the bottom of themine. The anchor suspending cable E, which is normally coiled in theanchor, has its lower end suitably secured to the latter. I

The drag anchor F is of usual construction and consists of a cone 14 ofcanvas or other suitable material with its open end fastened to a ring15 from which extends a plurality of wires or equivalent members 16 thatare united with a ring 17 to which is attached the. drag anchor cable G.The drag anchor is normally suspended on a catch or hook 18 fastened tothe side of the mine anchor D, such hook 18 engaging in the ring 17, andfrom this ring 17 the cable G, shown in Fig. 2, passes over a guidepulley 19 on the mine anchor D and thence winds around the drum H fixedto a shaft 20 journaled in bearings'2l at one of the adjacent sides ofthe anchor D. When the floating cable C is cauglft up by a moving vessela drag is produced'on the mines at the endof the floating cable and theparts associated with the mines, and consequently the drag anchors F arecaused to change from a pendent to a horizontal position, whereby therings 17 release from the hooks 18 and consequently the drums 12 willunwind. under the greater drag or pulling power of the drag anchors Funtil the cables G are paid out. The means for retaining the mine A onits main anchor D consistsof cable or line I which is fastened at 22 toone side of the anchor D and extends upwardly and over the mine A andthence downwardly to the opposite side of the anchor D, where the hook23 or equivalent deviceis engaged with a sliding bolt 24 mounted ou'the"anchor D. This retaining-cable I cannot be brought into play until themine is properly suspended for that purpose.

- The mechanism J for releasing the retaining cable I so that the mineand its anchor can separate and the latter be suspended from the former,comprises a worm 25-on theshaft 20 which meshes with a worm wheel 26rotatably mounted on the anchor' D, and in the hub 27 of the gearwheel26 is a recess 28 into which the end 29 of the bolt 24 is adapted tospring when the wheel has revolved a suflicient distance, the bolts 24being acted on by a spring 30 which tends to urge the bolt-toward theright, Fig. 1, and when the recess 28 alines with the bolt the lattermoves to the right and disengages the end 31 of the bolt from the hookor catch 23 on the retaining cable or element I.

Assuming that'the floating cable C'is about siX hundred feet in length,with the mines or bombs applied to the end thereof and suspended aboutnine feet below the surface of the water, the drag anchor cables G willbe about four hundred feet in length, and when they have unwound fromtheir drums to this length the catch-holding bolts 24 are released sothat the retaining cables I will allow the main anchors D to'drop fromthe mines A and hang therefrom a distance often or twenty feet, andsimultaneously with the dropping of the anchors D the mines A willassume an upright position.

If the location of an enemys ship or fleet, is known and it is desiredto hem the enemy J in with submarine mines of the character referred to,a fleet of mine planters will plant the mines in a circle having aradius beyond the range of the enemys guns, the floating cables C beinglaid end to end 1;; a more or less continuous circle around the enemysfleet, or they may be arranged in a straight line across the coursewhich the enemys fleet is taking. In planting submarine mines the mine Aand its attached parts are lowered into the water as shown in Fig. 3,with the cable C and buoy 7 floating, and ,as the mine sinks the section6 of the suspending cable B straightens out from the position shown inFig. 3 to that shown. in Fig. 4. The mines on the ends of the cableremain in this position until the fl ating cable C is caught on amovingvessel in .manner more or less as shown in Fig. 7, wl crein S representsdiagrammatically a battleship approaching the floating mine. Thefloating it cable C is dragged along with the vessel and the mines Asuspended on the ends are caused to move inwardly simultaneously tohullof the ship and suspended in the region of the vulnerable part thereof,that is, below the armor line. At the time the drag anchor cables arefully unwound, the anchor retaining device I is released so that theanchor D will drop from the mine and exert a. pull thereon, the mine inthe meantime assuming an upright position, and finally when the pullexerted by the anchor D is sufliciently strong it will cause the wires 2to successively break. The breaking of the wires 2 releasesa spring (notshown on the drawings) adapted to the mechanism of percussion; thereleasing of this spring enables the striker to come into action;consequently the mine will explode and destroy or cripple the battleshipThe mines explode practically simultaneously and at opposite sides ofthe battleship so as to have a maximum de stroying effect. The ship maynot strike the floating cable directly in the center, as shown indiagrams Figs. 7 to 9 inclusive, but nearer to one end than the other,but even so the operation will be the same, that is to say, the

, mines will come into contact with the hull of the boat at oppositesides, one nearer. the bow than the other, but the explosions will takeplace at opposite sides of the hull.

' From the foregoing description taken in connection with theaccompanying drawings, the advantages of the method of operation and ofthe apparatus shown will bereadily understood by those skilled in theart to which the invention appertains, and while I have described theapparatus which I now consider to be the best-embodiment thereof, Idesire to have it understood that the apparatus shown is merelyillustrative and that such changes may be made when desired as arewithin the scope of the appended claims.

Having thus described my invention, I claim as new and desire to secureby Letters I Patent 1. A submarine mine comprising a float, a suspendingelement connected therewith, an explosive body having connection withthe said element, a main anchor, means for re-f' leasably connecting theanchor and body together, a releasing device" for said connect ingmeans, a drag anchor for controlling the said device for releasing theanchor from the body a flexible element for suspending, when released,the anchor t'rom the body, and a firing means actuated-after thereleasing of the anchor from the body and by the suspension of theanchor on the body.

2. A submarine mine comprising afloat, a mine suspended thereby, a mainanchor normally carried by the mine and adapted to drop therefrom to asuspended position for exploding the mine, and a drag anchor controllingthe dropping of the main anchor from the mine.

3. A submarine mine comprising a float, a mine suspended therefrom, ananchor flexibly connected with the mine and adapted to drop therefrom,means for normally holding the mine and anchor together, and adraganchor for releasing the anchor from the mine, the resistance of thewater acting against the drag anchor when the float is engaged anddragged by a passing vessel.

4. In a submarine mine, the combination of a float, a mine, a suspendedelement between the float and mine, an anchor, means for connecting theanchor and mine together and supporting both on only a portion of thesaid suspending element, means for causing the anchor to drop and hangfrom the mine and cause the mine and anchor to be suspended by the fulllength of the suspending element, a firing device, and breakable wirescontrolling the firing device and'connected with the suspending element,the breaking of said wires releasing said firing device to allow it tocome into action.

A submarine mine comprising a floating cable, an explosive device on theends thereof and each including firing means, an

anchor 'releasably attachcdto each device and controlling the operationof the firing means, and means controlled by the dragging of the minesthrough the water to re lease the anchors from the said mines.

6. The combination of a floating element, a mine suspended thereby, ananchor, a device for releasably holding the anchor and mine together,means for suspending the anvchor from the mine when the anchor isreleased from the latter, a drag anchor controlling the releasing ofsaid means, said mine including a firing device, and means controllingthe operation of the firing device when the anchor-becomessuspended fromthe mine.

7. The combination of a floating element a mine, a suspending cablebetween the mine and element, an anchor, a device for releasably holdingthe anchor and mine together,

with the mine disposed on its side. a cableby which the anchor issuspended from the mine when the said device is released, a drag anchorcontrolling the operation of the said deviceto release the anchor, thesaid mine including a firing device, and breakable means between themine suspending cable and firing device whereby the latter operates bythe weight of the mine and auchor being brought to bear on the minesuspending cable.

8. Tl e combination of a floating element,

amine including a firing device, a suspending cable between the mine andelement, a

main anchor, a connecting cable between the mine and anchor, a devicefor holding the anchor and inine releasably together and engaged withthe mine suspending cable to hold a portion of such cable slack, a draganchor, means on the main anchor for paying out the drag anchor, meansbetween the paying-out means and said device for releasing the latterfor permitting the main anchor to be suspended by its cable, -andbreakable means between the slack portion of the said cable and thefiring device whereby the firing device is operated when the weight ofthe mine and main anchor is brought to bear on the slack portion of thesaid mine suspending cable.

9. The combination of amine, a suspending cable, an anchor, a retainingcable for normally holding the mine and anchor together and engaged withthe suspending cable to hold a portion thereof normally slack, said mineincluding a firing device, means controlled by the slack portion of thesaid cable for operating the firing device, and means for releasing theretaining cable to permit the weight of the mine and anchor to bebrought to bear on theslack portion of the suspending cable to cause thefiring device to operate. 7 v

p 10. The combination of a mine, an anchor on whigh-themine normallyrests on its side, a device for releasably holding the mine and anchortogether and including a lock, a drag anchor, a cable connecting thedrag anchor with the first mentioned anchor, means controlled by thesaid cable for releasing the lock to permit the mine and anchor to sepa-"ate, a suspending cable-for the mine with which the device normallyengages to hold a portion of the suspending cable slack, a firing meansfor the mine, and means between the said firing means and slack portionof the suspending cable whereby the firing means is operated when thesaid device releases the suspending cable.

11. The combination of a mine, an anchor on which the mine rests on itsside, a retaining cable fastened at one side to the mine and engagedwith the mine to hold the latter on the anchor, a device for releasablyconnecting the other end of the retaining cable with the anchor, a draganchor, a cable connected therewith, means on the first mentioned anchorto pay out the drag anchor, a rotatable element actuated by the payingout means and permitting the said device to open when a predeterminedamount of drag cable has been paid out, and a firing device for the minecontrolled by the said retaining cable.

12. The combination of a mine, a suspending cable composed of twoportions connected by a ring, a main anchor, a retain anchor and minethrough the water to re lease said bolt.

13. The combination of a mine, a suspending cable composed of twoportions connected by a ring, a main anchor, a retaining cable fastenedto the anchor and passing over the mine and through the said ring of thesuspending cable to normally hold one portion, of the cable slack, alocking bolt on the anchor for releasably engaging the said retainingcable, a firing device for-the n1ine, breakable elements between theslack:

part of the suspending cable and firing device, an anchor suspendingcable connected with the anchor and mine, a drag anchor, a winding'deviee on .the main anchor, a

cable connecting the winding device and drag anchor, and meanscontrolled by the winding device for permitting the bolt to release thesaid retaining cable.

14.. The combination of a mine, a suspending cable composed oftwoportions connected by a ring, a main anchor, a retaining cablefastened to the anchor and passing over the mine and through the saidring of the suspending cable to normally hold one portion of the cableslack, a looking bolt on the anchor for releasably engaging the saidretaining cable, a firing device for the mine, breakable elementsbetween the slack part of the suspending cable and firing device, ananchor suspending cable connected with the anchor and mine, a draganchor, means on the main anchor for normally suspending the draganchor, a cablehconnected with the drag anchor, a winding drum on themain anchor from which the drag anchor cable pays out, and

a device movable with the drum for permitting the bolt to release theretaining cable when a predetermined length of drag anchor cable hasbeen paid. out.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in thepresence of two subscrilnng witnesses. v

GIOVANNI EMANUELE ELIA.

lVitnesses OnArr] a: B n UDWAY,

Pnimr D. RoLLHAUs.

